I know that some of you are super eager to see some major progress on this huge project so here is another “carrot in front of the donkey” to keep you interested and coming back for more.  Here are the first photos of the newly powder coated and anodized suspension parts going on the car for mock-up.  We also threw one of the brakes on just to give you an idea of what they will look like, 12.9″ brakes on a Z are ridiculous, and amazing.

Two of the ZCG Big Brake Kit posts can be found HERE and HERE

I MIGHT have a couple more shots for you before the week is over of the car on the ground, that’s right, it will be a roller.  Holy Crap.  keep bringing it back here for your Z-car fix.

I’m tired.  Good night all.

Not everything we do at Z Car Garage is a ground-up restoration or a hardcore twin turbo build.  In fact most of our customers come to us just looking for just a little more of what they already love about their cars.  In this case we will be taking a daily-driven G35 and adding a little bit of sport to it’s luxury coupe status.  Nothing too crazy, just improving on an already astounding car.

One of the many great things about the VQ35 engine series is it distinct exhaust note.  I can be in my house, out of sight of the road, and be 100% certain when one goes by, be it in a G35, 350z, FX35… whatever.  After searching long and hard for an aftermarket cat-back exhaust system to compliment the factory sound without too much rasp we came to Bassani.  We have been using the Bassani systems for quite some time now and have been more than happy.  They improve upon the already sporty exhaust note and they seem to be one of the top performing kits on the market today.  This was a must for this car.

Not wanting to leave the intake side of the engine jealous, we opted for a simple but effective Jim Wolf Technologies (JWT) POP charger setup.  This air filter is much more free flowing than the factory panel filter set-up and it allows for your ears to enjoy just enough of that beautiful intake sounds that we all love.  JWT is a great operation and their parts are top notch which makes this part another must.

Now on to the handling side of the equation.  A simple and proven set of Eibach springs will do the trick here by giving us the stance we want and a higher spring rate for the cornering that we deserve.  The other part of the equation here is the set of red Hotchkis swaybars which are meant to keep body roll in check during any high G events.  Simplicity at is finest.

From the chart below you can see that there are certainly a few more horsepower in the mix after the intake and exhaust modifications, but with this being an automatic transmission car the gains tend to be a bit masked by the slush box.  Another upgraded daily driver in the hands of a satisfied customer, job well done.  Until next time…

There is a full gallery of photos after the “read more” below.  They are in order from when the car came in to the shop until the time it was delivered.  A few of the before/after shots are almost shocking.  New parts rule.  ENJOY

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If you have followed the blog for awhile you have certainly seen our customer’s cars receive some rare equipment.  Our latest rarity is this Power House Amuse full titanium cat-back system for the 350z, in this case a very clean NISMO edition.  This car has already been treated with a host of upgrades including a beautiful set of Volk TE37 wheels, Injen intake system, and a Tanabe coilover suspension for that perfect stance.

Along with the Amuse exhaust we installed a full complement of Defi gauges to keep track of the engine vitals.  The A-pillar now contains oil pressure and temperature gauges that are accompanied by a programmable tachometer with shift light and memory functions.  Pretty trick pieces if you are looking for a more exact reading than the stock units which are notoriously in inaccurate.

Getting back to the exhaust, the build quality is amazing.  I hope that some of the close-up pictures can show you what I’m talking about, and being made fully of Ti helps take quite a few pounds off of the car.  One part that did need quite a bit of modification was in the area of the evap. system for the fuel tank.  Custom brackets had to be made to move the system out of the way of the exhaust and then the wiring and hoses needed to be lengthened and then heat wrapped for extra insurance.  It came out really clean and stock appearing after Fred worked his magic (like he always does.)

From the dyno graph you can see that we were able to coax a bit more power out of the car which is always a plus, but this system shines in so many other areas that it would be downright wrong to judge it on numbers alone.  To our surprise, sound-wise the car isn’t much louder than the parts that we replaced although it is a bit more aggressive.

I have a good feeling that this car will be back for a few more modifications so don’t be too surprised if you see it gracing your computer screen in the future.  Until we meet again…

ZCG

See all the other photos after the ‘read more’

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Here is the dyno printout for the OLD engine in the 300ZX TT in the post below.  The new engine is supposed to make a healthy bit more.  We can’t wait for the break-in miles to be completed so we can make some power!!!

(I just realized that the graph is in MPH for the rollers and not RPM for the engine, sorry.  I’ll change it next time I’m at the shop)

It seems like we have been getting quite a few long-term project cars out of the door recently, and there are more on the way!!  This car has been in our family for a long time now and we have released it back into the wild to gain a few break-in miles before it comes back for its final tune.

This beautiful white 300ZX Twin Turbo is bound to make some huge power in the near future with it’s freshly rebuilt and upgraded engine.  I’m not going to spill any more details until I have a final post ready with dyno runs so you will just have to wait a little while longer, sorry.  If I recall correctly this car made a healthy amount over 600 wheel horsepower with the last engine, I’ll try to find a dyno print out in the next day or so.  Enjoy the new pictures and the suspense for the time being.

HERE is another post with some more photos of this car.